About a Girl
by Little Blue Fairy
Summary: Cid is playing match maker in Rikku's life. Gippal comes up with a plan to help her get Cid to stop trying to marry her off.
1. Chapter 1

I only own my creativity

Rikku was ready to scream from frustration. Her father had gone too far this time. Yes, he was getting older. Yes, he needed someone eventually take over for him as leader for the Al Bhed. However, that did not mean he had to marry her off right now. Rikku had only minutes before the next guy showed up at her front door. This would be the seventh suitor that Cid had invited to family dinner in the last month. All of them were guys that Rikku had grown up with but she had never shown the slightest interest in. That fact did not matter to Cid apparently, who kept inviting young men over to the biweekly family dinner. The only characteristic that seemed to count was that they were from good Al Bhed families. At least, that was the only connection between the suitors that Rikku could think of. That thought made Rikku somewhat happy since there could only so many Al Bhed males from good families left. The end was in sight, or so she hoped. Maybe once her dad had invited all possible candidates he would give up and things would go back to normal. A girl could dream right? Unfortunately Cid would most likely not let her be until she picked one of them to date, marry and then have children with. She could not see that happening with any of the guys Cid had invited so far.

There was one Al Bhed male from a nice family that Rikku was hoping Cid would never invite, and that was Gippal. She was dreading the mocking that would follow Cid trying to get Gippal to marry her. She could only hope that since her father did not personally approve of Gippal being very friendly with too many girls he would not be on the list of men for Rikku to marry. Rikku looked at the clock to see how much time she had left before Cid's guest arrived. There were less than five minutes before the torture would begin. Rikku made a face as she stared at herself in the vanity mirror that she was sitting in front. The guys were not all that horrible. They were nice as friends but nothing more. None of them made Rikku's heart race, gave her butterflies in her stomach, or anything that Rikku thought should happen when being around a guy one was in love with. Not that she really had much experience with being love. Most of her knowledge about the symptoms from her talks with Yunie rather than personal experience.

Maybe in the few minutes left before the guy arrived she could figure out a way to escape or how to get out of the seventh boring dinner. Too bad Rikku had not found out who tonight's guest was ahead of time. If she had that information before hand she would have tried to bride them not to come. Or perhaps if that did not work then maybe a threat would have worked. Rikku's musings were interrupted when her father poked his head into her room. Rikku met his gaze in the mirror in front of her rather than turning around to face him.

"Our guest will be arriving soon for dinner. I hope that you will be friendly to him or at least civil." Cid said as he leaned against the doorpost. Rikku forced a smile before answering.

"I try my best to play nice with the other children, father." Cid sighed, "So who is the lucky guy tonight?" Cid looked down the hall when he heard a knock on the door.

"I guess you will find out when you come and greet our guest. I will see you downstairs." Cid disappeared from the doorway. Rikku took one last look at her appearance, stood up and then walked down the stairs. Rikku froze half way down the stairs and forced the groan back down her throat. Gippal was standing in the entryway conversing with her father.

"Hey Cid's girl." Gippal smiled up at her. Rikku gave him an uneasy smile and then continued her way down the stairs.

"Well, I will let you two talk for awhile before dinner." Cid said and then left the room. Gippal turned towards Rikku with a small smile on his face.

"So Cid's girl, I hear you need a husband." Rikku glared at Gippal, wishing that looks could kill.

"No, my father is trying to marry me off. There is a difference a difference between the two. Just like someone being in love with you and being in love with your money." Rikku retaliated. Gippal tilted his head to one side.

"My sister has been talking too much again I see." Gippal guessed, "So how many guys has Cid invited over already?"

"You are not number one if that is what you are thinking." Rikku answered

"Oh I knew that before I was invited. Apparently my workers are very eager to discover who the will be the lucky guy. Lunch time is never quiet at Djose." Rikku blushed. Before she could think of a reply, though, Cid called them into dinner. Well, that was not as bad as it could have been Rikku thought as she sat down to dinner. She could only hope that the night would pass quickly.


	2. Chapter 2

I only own my own creativity

A few weeks later…

Pops had no one new to invite to dinner so he had asked one of the young men to come back for tonight's dinner. Rikku had no idea which one was supposed to be there for dinner but she would most likely never know. That thought made her smile as she pulled her boots on and opened the window of her room. Cid would just have to explain to the young man why she was not there.

Rikku had called Paine earlier and asked it was okay if she came over to see Baralai and her tonight. Paine could tell something was up but Rikku only told her that she really needed to get out of the house and be around friends. Paine could not take away respect points for Rikku lying since that was not a lie. She just had not told the whole truth. Gippal already knew about what her father was up to she did not need everyone knowing. Of course, that was hoping that Gippal had not opened his big mouth yet. He had always teased her about how people thought they were a couple even though they had never crossed that line in their friendship. They had been friends at first but at some point it was like Gippal realized that she was an icky girl. After that he most likely hung out with Buddy and Brother until he realized girls were not so gross as he had thought. He started to hang out with her again but mostly when there was not another girl available. At least, that was the way that it seemed at first. As they got closer, he was around more often. They had been almost back to being best friends when Rikku turned sixteen.

Rikku shook her head and let the memories disappear. She would be caught if she stayed here staring off into space. She readjusted her jacket and then slipped out the window into freedom. She had left a hover within a short distance of the house so she could quickly sneak away to Paine's apartment. She pulled in front of the apartment a little while later and grinned. Too bad she was not able to see the look on her father's face when he discovered she was missing. She jumped out of the hover and took the stairs up. Since they were expecting her she let herself in. Paine called out from another room.

"Who is it?" Rikku giggled

"Who else are you expecting, Paine?" Rikku walked into the room and stopped short at the sight of Gippal already sitting down with Baralai. Gippal frowned at her.

"What are you doing here?" Rikku's mouth dropped open.

"I could ask you the same thing." Rikku snapped back. Gippal gave her a small smile, more like a smirk really.

"So did you know it was me that you were ditching tonight when you escaped?" Rikku groaned and put one hand up to her head to hide her face.

"Did you have to bring it up in front of them?" asked Rikku, "But no I did not know it was you. Nice to know that you stood me up." He shrugged

"Hey you did it too." He pointed out

"What are you guys talking about?" Paine asked looking back and forth between her friends trying to figure out what was going on. Rikku glared at Gippal as he sighed.

"Rikku's dad would like her to settle down, soon, so Cid has invited a few of his closest friends' sons over for dinner for the last month or so." Gippal shot a glance at Rikku and then continued, "Cid asked me and a few others to consider marrying Rikku." Usually, thanks to her deep tan, no one could tell when Rikku was embarrassed but she was sure that right now she was bright red.

"Oh, "Paine said, "That makes sense." Rikku crashed into the nearest chair and tried to keep her mouth from hanging open. Did Paine really think that marrying Gippal made sense? Paine interrupted Rikku's thoughts "That is why you sounded funny when you called to hang out. You were trying to get away from your dad trying to set you up."

"That is right," Rikku smiled realizing she had misunderstood what Paine was saying, "Now can we talk about something else. Tonight is supposed to be an escape from that craziness."

"Okay, but I do not think that ignoring what Cid is trying to do will fix your problem, Rikku," Baralai finally spoke up

"That is true, Cid will not leave you alone until you do what he wants. He is as stubborn as you are." Gippal pointed out, since he knew her father well. Rikku gave a big sigh and settled back into the chair.

"I know what you are saying is true but can we just forget it for a couple of hours tonight? Please?" Rikku pleaded with her friends. They all nodded. "Okay then, what are we going to eat? I am hungry." She said with a smile that made everyone laugh. They had dinner and visited a bit until they noticed it was getting late. Gippal left at the same time as Rikku and walked her to the hover.

"So how much trouble do you think we are in?" Gippal asked with a smile.

"Let me think, first there will be yelling, then the silent treatment until he decides he needs to yell some more." Rikku quipped. This made both of them laugh as they had made Cid mad at them too many times to count.

"Well, I guess drive safe…" Gippal did a double take, "Hey this is my hover!"

"I was wondering how long it would take for you to notice." Rikku smiled as leaned against it.

"You little thief," Gippal started but he was interrupted by sirens and flashing lights. "Rikku, I think we are in bigger than trouble than we thought." Gippal said as the patrol hovers stopped in front of them. Gippal took a step forward so that Rikku was slightly behind him. A man got out of the hover and talk into the commsphere.

"We found her and she is safe and appears to be unharmed." He said and then spoke to them, "Lady Rikku, your father thought you had been kidnapped. We are here to take you home safely. Please get in the hover." Gippals looked back at her and then back to the man.

"Actually I can drive her home in my hover and you can escort us. I promise we will stay with you." The man nodded and then got into his hover. Rikku got into the hover with Gippal and gave him a small smile.

"Are you sure you want to be there when he starts his tirade?" Gippal started the hover and followed behind the patrol hover. He nodded yes to her question.

"Oh yes, this way he can deal with us at the same time."


	3. Chapter 3

I only own my own creativity

Thanks to my reviewers of course. I will try to keep the updates coming on a regular basis. Usually it takes me longer to write the next chapter but this story is going fast. Keep your fingers crossed that it will stay that way. Hope you guys enjoy the next chapter.

C

Gippal stopped the hover in front of the house, turned the engine off and looked at the window of Cid's office where the light was still on. He glanced over at Rikku. He could tell she was dreading Cid as much as he was. Cid's lectures were known for going on and on, not to mention being loud.

"How about I talk to your father first? Maybe I can get us both out of trouble," Gippal offered as he started to get out. Rikku grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

"What are you planning to do? He is impossible to reason with when he is angry and telling him the truth about why both of us did not show up for dinner will only he make more upset." Rikku studied him closely but let go of his arm.

"Don't worry about it, Cid's girl." Rikku glared at him, jumped out of the hover and followed him.

"I have a name, and you know that," Gippal walked through the door, stopped and turned back to face her. Rikku put her hands on her hips and raised her chin up just slightly "You are not telling me something." Gippal smiled down at her, turned back and walked towards Cid's office. However before he entered, he glanced back again.

"Deal with it." He said with a smirk. Gippal entered the doorway and shut the door behind him.

"You big meanie!" Rikku crossed her arms in front of her chest and then went up to her room to wait for Pops to come upstairs. Except, it took longer than she thought it would so she fell asleep waiting for him to come to her room. She woke up some time later to someone gently touching her cheek. She stirred but not did fully wake up. The hand moved to her shoulder and applied slight pressure.

"Rikku, wake up," She blinked eyes and rolled towards the voice. Her eyes opened fully finally and she looked up. Gippal was sitting on the bed slightly leaning over her. Rikku slowly pulled herself up into sitting position. Gippal sat back a little and took his hand off her shoulder. She smiled at him like she was still half asleep.

"Where is Pops? I was counting on a lecture," Rikku rubbed her eyes with one hand. "So how did it go? How angry is he for me not being here tonight?"

"He was angry at first but after we talked awhile he calmed down." Rikku stopped in the middle of yawning when something caught her eye.

"Gippal, he is not going to stay calm for long with you in my bedroom with the door closed." Gippal looked away with a sigh. He was not sure if he wanted to get into this tonight.

"No, he will stay calm but before I tell you why promise that you will not interrupt until I am done telling you what happened." He looked back at her and waited for her nod before continuing.

"Cid will not be banging down the door to kill me because I have his permission," Rikku frowned and opened her mouth but Gippal covered it with his hand, "I thought you promised not to interrupt me." Rikku shrugged and then he lowered his hand. "His permission was given after I told him that I convinced you to go out with me tonight, just the two of us to talk. While you and I talked I came to the decision to take him up on his offer to date you and you agreed. Needless to say he was very happy, really happy. He had told me before he was hoping that I might be his future son-in-law. Of course, you should be happy too. There will be no more suitors asked to dinner. You will only have to put up with me occasionally before you figure out a way to convince Cid I broke your heart or some other way that will convince your father marrying me is a bad idea. I only hope your father and brother will spare my life." Gippal chuckled, "Alright, I am done you can talk all you want." Gippal sat back and got comfortable. He figured Rikku was going to have a lot of questions or yell at him for a couple of minutes.

"Okay," She started slowly, "So what I just heard you say is you agreed to date me in order to avoid a lecture." Gippal started to protest but she kept going, "While I would look forward to having my dad tone down on the marrying me off thing, what would you get out of this? I mean, why would you tell my dad we are considering marriage?" Gippal shrugged.

"Maybe I really want to marry you and this is just my evil plan to ensure that I get the girl." Gippal laughed at the shocked look on Rikku's face. She glared back at him but he kept on laughing, "Gotcha," he said once his laughter had died done a little. "But seriously, do not worry about it."

"You just want to mess around with me," Gippal glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. She blushed when she realized how that sounded.

"It would be fun to mess around, don't you think?" Gippal asked as his face came closer to hers. Rikku felt a funny sensation in her stomach but it disappeared when Gippal reached up and ruffled her hair which made Rikku glower at him again.

"Just tell me the truth Gippal, stop teasing me." Gippal could tell she had had enough teasing.

"Fine, I need to a date to a few functions where I would rather have you by my side than some clingy girl that cannot understand the word no. There are some ladies who do not seem to understand I am not interested and I thought if you and I pretended to date they would leave me alone for awhile. Besides, my dad would leave me alone too if we dated."

"Okay," Rikku stated. Gippal looked at her suspiciously.

"Really? That's it? I was anticipating something more, like yelling or questioning me for hours." Rikku grinned at what he said.

"Well, you are the one who came up with the idea and if it helps me more than you then you have only yourself to blame."

"I guess I cannot argue with that logic." Both of them were quiet for a minute. Then Gippal leaned closer until he was hovering in front of her face. Rikku watched him wondering what he was up to this time.

"Good night, Rikku," He whispered before he kissed her forehead. He got up and left. Rikku smiled as she drifted off into sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

I only own my own creativity

Thank again to my readers for reviewing. It will most likely be at least a few more chapter before they get together. Makes for a more interesting story when the couple doesn't get together right away, I think. It is a little short but I couldn't think of another way to end it. Enjoy!

Rikku stretched and then rubbed the sleepiness out of her eyes. She got out of bed and made her way downstairs to the kitchen. Cid was already seated at the table. She walked up to him and dropped a kiss on his head before heading for the coffee.

"Did you sleep well Rikku?" he asked as he turned towards her. Rikku bobbed her head yes. It was a well known fact that Rikku really did not speak in the morning until she had some coffee in her system. "I was very pleased with Gippal's proposal last night. Well, I have to get to work. Have a good day, princess." He said as he kissed her forehead and was out the door. Rikku stood there drinking her coffee slowly comprehending what her dad had just said. Then in a rush last night's memories came back to another kiss on the forehead. Rikku dropped the mud in her hand. She grabbed the nearest commsphere and called Paine and Yuna telling them to come as quick as possible. They arrived within twenty minutes and found Rikku pacing in the kitchen. Yuna cleaned up the mess so she would not hurt herself.

"I am in big trouble!" Rikku threw her hands up in the air. "Huge trouble. This disasteriffic!"

"What is going on Rikku?" Yuna was worried about her cousin. Rikku just kept pacing.

"I think it has something to do with Cid trying to marry her off and soon. She was fine last night when she left my apartment though." Paine stood arms crossed watching Rikku pace.

"Last night, " Rikku stopped the pacing, groaned dragging her hands down her face and sat down at the table.

"Rikku, we cannot understand your moaning. You are going to have to calm down to fill us in." Yuna sat down next to her and put her arm around her.

"Gippal drove me home last night." Rikku started slowly, "After that my memory is a bit fuzzy."

"Wait, Gippal? When did he came into the story? Yuna asked confused.

"He was at my apartment last night too." Paine filled in. She frowned and then looked at Rikku glaring, "Wait, he didn't do anything..."

"No, oh no way, nothing that bad," Rikku interrupted when she caught onto what Paine was implying. "However, apparently while I was sleeping upstairs he accepted father's proposal to marry me." Both friends were shocked into silence for a minute. Yuna finally broke the silence.

"You are getting married?" Yuna questioned.

"To Gippal?" Paine clarified.

"I think so," Rikku moaned and then put her head on the table. "He came up afterward to my room and woke me up. He told me about it and then left." A chirp from across the room made the girls turn toward the commsphere. The screen flickered and then they could see Gippal.

"Hey, am I interrupting your party?" Gippal asked surprised to find all of them in Rikku's kitchen.

"Gippal, what did you do?" Rikku asked. She could see he was confused even from across the room. "Father thinks you proposed!"

"Ah, I thought I explained that last night to you." He frowned when she kept on glaring at him, "I swear you were awake this time." His comment referred to the multiple times he and Brother had gotten Rikku to agree to things by asking her while she still half asleep. Sleepy Rikku agreed to just about anything. "I told Cid that we would date and see if we were well matched. Nothing is for sure really." Paine and Yuna quietly got up and left the room to give them some privacy.

"Define really," Rikku glowered at him as he rubbed the back of his neck. She wondered why he was nervous.

"As of this moment nothing is set. However Cid should be here soon to work out the contract." Gippal replied.

"Contract?" Rikku echoed. "What contract? You did not mention anything about a contract last night."

"That is because the contract is for me, not you. It is just standard I intend to marry the leader's daughter contract. You will be able to get out of it because you did not sign it. So don't worry your pretty little head about it. Though you might want to consider moving to Djose for a few months to make it seem like we are actually dating." Gippal suggested.

"Why do I have to be the one that moves?" Rikku pouted.

"Because you are the one that lives with Cid. We can't fool him if he is right there the entire time. And I have the Faction to run, remember?" Gippal explained patiently.

"Oh right," Rikku grinned sheepishly. "I guess I better go pack and asked if one of the girls can drop me off. You took the hover right?"

"Yes, I took back my hover," Gippal smirked, "I did not forget it. One more thing before you go. Did you remember agreeing to being my date to a few formal functions?" Rikku nodded slowly, "Good, don't worry about bring extra outfits. I will give you the money to go buy something when you need to. See you later Cid's girl." The commsphere turned off. Rikku went in search of her friends to fill them in on what just happened and the fact that she was moving that afternoon.


	5. Chapter 5

I only own my own creativity...

The last few weeks had been great for Rikku. She had her own apartment not too far away from Djose Temple and she was working with machina daily. Gippal noticed she was bored just after a couple of days and also that she had been hanging around the work areas. So he suggested that she help out but only if she wanted. She almost tackled him with a big hug and leaped into action. During her free time she visited with either Paine or Yuna usually. When she happened to see Gippal it mostly in passing, though she heard about him often during lunch and breaks when the temple workers and the diggers met up. The female workers were always gossiping about who Gippal was seeing at the moment since no one knew about Gippal had agreed to date her. Rikku had figured Djose was far enough that Pops would not hear about Gippal still dating the way he usually did, besides she did not want to act like they were dating in front of everyone. The show was for Cid and Cid only at least as far as she was concerned. There had been one outing where Gippal had asked Rikku to come as his date. The party was for his cousin who had recently gotten engaged.

"So again, why am I your date tonight? Just because this a family thing?" Rikku called out her question as she was putting the finishing touches on her outfit and make up. She had taken over Gippal's bathroom since they had to leave soon after the work day was over. He was in his bedroom getting ready for the party.

"Well, there is that reason but the other would be Naka's best friend, Lesa, was a huge crush on me. She thinks that we are meant to be and I just need convincing. Are you almost ready?" Gippal came up the doorway of the bathroom, the door was mostly closed, and leaned against the wall. Rikku opened the door and peeked out at him.

"Why? What do you need?" She inquired since she knew she still had about five minutes left. Gippal motioned to the undone tie around his neck. Rikku stepped out of the bathroom and started to tie it for him.

"You cleaned up nicely." Gippal mentioned after glancing up and down. Rikku smiled as she finished. Then she twirled around in her dress. It was teal that in some areas was more blue and other areas more green with sparkles all over that clung perfectly to her body. The top made a v and the bottom was jagged ending at mid calf.

"I am glad you like it, you did buy it after all. So you ready to be madly in love with me for the night?" Rikku asked brightly. Gippal laughed at her remark.

"Are you ready?" Rikku shrugged, "Just try not to blush too much." He advised and grabbed his coat walking towards the door.

"Wait, what are you planning on that would me blush?" Rikku wondered aloud as she walked beside him. Gippal had only grinned at her before getting into the hover. Rikku bugged him to tell her the whole drive to the party. He drove into the driveway and got out as the valet came towards them to take the hover. Gippal put his arm around her.

"Whatever it takes," Gippal said softly into her ear as they walked into the party. Rikku stared at him trying to place what he was saying. Seeing her confusion he continued, "Whatever it takes to convince Cid that I am madly in love with you." Rikku bit back a shriek when he nibbled on her ear. "Good girl, now try not to fidget too much. When you are not fidgeting you look very beautiful," he said with a smirk then turned to say hello to his relatives. It was slowly dawning on Rikku what it would mean to have a guy madly in love with her. Gippal wouldn't try to kiss her would he? Her stomach was starting to feel funny and the room was warm. She felt his hand jerk her back to reality. She looked up at him, he stared back.

"Did you say something?" she asked.

"I said you looked flushed. Are you okay?" He was studying her.

"Yeah, I am, sure fine." Rikku rambled a little. He looked at her confused, took a quick look around the room and then pulled her into a closed room that appeared to be an office or library.

"Okay what is wrong?" He asked leaning up against a desk with his arms cross in front of his chest, watching her again.

"I just realized what is expected of someone when they are dating or in love," Rikku finally said looking everywhere in the room but at him.

"Okay," Gippal drawled, "And what was this conclusion you came to?"

"Are you planning on kissing me?" Rikku asked, her eyes flickered to his for a second then looked away. He stood up straight but stayed where he was.

"Have you ever been kissed?" Gippal asked softly.

"Not really, kinda nothing big though no fireworks but still..." Her voice faded as she ran out things to say. She was looking down at her feet when she saw his feet in front of hers. His hand came up to her chin slowly brought her up to face him.

"How about this, I will not kiss you unless you give me permission. Will that work for you?" Rikku nodded slightly feeling trapped by his hand on her chin. The door opened behind her.

"There they are!" Cid announced, "I know you two are dating but that is no reason to be sneaking off like that. Now give your old man a hug." He drew Rikku into a hug and kissed her on her cheek. He pulled her back out into the party. "So how is my future son-in-law treating you? I have been telling everyone I see you two are finally together." They left the room and followed Cid back to the party.

"Did you tell Lesa?" Gippal jokingly asked Cid. Cid laughed since he knew how Lesa acted around Gippal.

"Not yet, though she is over there. I will leave you two alone now." He kissed Rikku's cheek again before leaving.

"He has become very affectionate." Rikku remarked with a half smile and shook her head. The weird feeling that she had earlier faded now that she wasn't thinking about kissing her former crush. She faced Gippal now feeling comfortable with him again. She saw Lesa coming their way over Gippal's shoulder and grinned, "Here comes Lesa now." Before she could protest Gippal grabbed her hand and half dragged her into the dance floor that was close by. He held her tight in his arms dancing slowly but somewhat tense like he was waiting for someone to slap him. Rikku laid her head on his shoulder, trying to hid her smile in the crook of his neck.

"Hi Gippal," Lesa's voice was heard above the music.

"Oh Lesa, how are you?" Gippal asked as if he had no clue that she had been coming towards them. He stopped swaying to the music but still kept Rikku pressed close to him.

"Oh I am fine." Lesa replied, "I didn't realize that you were dating again." Her eyes slid towards Rikku, taking in the girl she saw as a rival.

"Oh yes, found the love of my life. I don't plan on letting go of her anytime this time." Something in his voice made Rikku look up. He was looking at her longingly.

"Sorry Lesa but Gippal did promise me this dance." Rikku said after breaking away from Gippal's glaze and pulled him further onto the dance floor. Gippal sighed in relief.

"I think she bought it. We can stop if you want." He offered once she was out of his sight.

"No, I am having fun. Besides she might still be watching." Rikku teased her eyes dancing with mischief and kept dancing. The music stopped after a few more minutes and they left the dance floor. Rikku had not talked to Naka in awhile so they spent some time talking to the happy couple. They had been talking for about ten minutes when they heard the shouting.

"Where is he? I will kill him," Brother screeched. He came into sight storming towards Gippal.

"Hey Brother," That was all Gippal got to say before Brother punched him in the face. Gippal sunk to the floor.

"What the hell was that for?" Rikku demanded her eyes flashing with anger as she pulled Gippal up to a nearby chair.

"I heard people saying he is cheating on you!" Brother yelled but did not try anything because Buddy was now holding him back.

"I tried to tell him they were probably just rumors from before you started dating." Buddy explained. Cid walked up to them and glared at his son.

"You are making a scene," Cid chastised Brother then he looked at Gippal who was nursing his bloody nose. "I think we should all talk somewhere private." Cid pulled Brother away and Buddy helped Gippal up but Gippal wave him off and walked on his own. Cid led them back to the room that Rikku and Gippal had been in earlier.

"Now what is this about you still dating other girls, Gippal?" Cid crossed his arms. Rikku stepped towards her father keeping a hand on Gippal. It was more to keep him quiet than anything else.

"They are just rumors Pops," Rikku lied, "Gippal would never hurt me like that." At least that was the truth she thought to herself.

"How would you know? You aren't living with him." Brother argued, "You can't know where he is all the time." Cid turned to Gippal and gave him a questioning look.

"I thought you had moved in together." Gippal winced when he felt Rikku stiffen slightly.

"We decided that was moving too fast." Cid glared back at him

"Is it moving too fast because you want to still have someone on the side?" He accused.

"Pops!" Rikku cried, "How can you say that about Gippal? I thought you wanted us to date."

"Not just date but marry and give me grandchildren. But I will not stand for any infidelity. Your wild days are over. We will discuss this more later. I will go give my apologies to Naka." Buddy and Brother left too.

"Come on lets get you home so you can get some ice on your face." Rikku pulled him out the door and towards the hovers.


	6. Chapter 6

I only own my own creativity

Thanks again to the readers and a big thanks to the reviews. Always glad to hear your insight. JenovaJuice97 I hope you like this chapter. Enjoy!

"Here this should help," Rikku put the bag of ice on Gippal's face as she stood over him. They had just arrived back in Djose. Rikku figured it would be best to take him back to his place so he could rest, even if he did think he did. He hadn't gotten further than the first room though. He had sunk onto the couch and didn't look like he was moving anytime soon. There was enough light from the moon so Rikku did not turn on the lights. He had mentioned that he had a headache on the way home.

"If I didn't know you, I would think that you were happy I got punched." Gippal muttered commenting on how her tone was still her usual happy regular self. Rikku laughed as she sat down next to him on the sofa. She curled her body up turned towards him, her head on the low back looking up at him. He had his head laying on the back of the sofa so even if he had not had the ice bag on his face he would not been able to see her. "And I am not being a baby. That was a mean sucker punch." He said defending his grumpiness to her.

"Well, he thought he was defending his baby sister's honor. What did you expect a pat on the back?" Rikku teased nudging his thigh slightly with her foot. Gippal grunted in response. "If you don't get up you are going to fall asleep right there. And since you are way too heavy for me to move, you will spend the night on your couch then in the morning," Gippal's head came up off the back of the couch. He removed the ice bag from his face.

"You talk way too much sometimes. I doubt I could really fall asleep with you talking like that." Gippal interrupted her but she could tell he was teasing her.

"Well, maybe you should try talking back to me." Rikku nudged him again with her foot but this time he nudged back her back moving until his thigh touched her foot.

"What do want to talk about?" Gippal asked as he tossed the bag onto the floor. "It was not helping anymore." He said when he saw the look Rikku was giving him. Rikku rolled her eyes but decided to talk about something else.

"You know this reminds me of being sixteen, back when we used to sneak away and stay up talking for hours." A ghost of a smile had crept into her features but it turned into a frown. "What happened between you and Nikki?" Nikki had been Gippal's girlfriend back then and they had been very serious. "I always thought that you two would stay together, even if she didn't like me she seemed to really like you." Gippal laughed and slowly shook his head.

"She disliked you because she was jealous. Besides, I thought you knew why we broke up." Rikku did not seem to hear the second part of what Gippal had said.

"Me? She is so beautiful! What does she have to be jealous of? All the boys liked her." Gippal winced as past memories came back, ones that he had tried to forget years ago.

"And she knew it, I think she played games with all of us. Anyways, she was jealous of you because she knew that I had had crush on you at one point." Rikku's jaw almost dropped. Gippal laughed at her expression making Rikku not take him seriously. She started hitting him. "Hey stop that. I already got enough punches tonight." He grabbed her wrists and put an end to her punching him

"You big meanie," Rikku protested as she struggled in his hold, "I do not believe you. You never had a crush on me and that is just mean to tease me like that." Gippal tilted his head to one side, studying her again.

"It is the truth and if it was not, why would it be mean to tease you about it?" Rikku could feel heat creeping into her cheeks. She was grateful that the lights were not on so Gippal was oblivious to the blush that he had caused. His touch even though it was just on her wrists and closeness was not helping either.

"You know I had a crush on you so saying that you had a crush on me when you did not is just mean." Rikku said as she finally broke free of his hold. She rubbed her wrists and then crossed her arms in front of her chest. "You are just avoiding the subject of you and Nikki." Gippal glared at her letting her know he thought that she was the one who was avoiding the subject.

"Fine, but you would have known about Nikki sooner if you hadn't run off." Now Gippal had his arms crossed also.

"I had to leave. I needed to stop Yunie. Besides, I thought if I left things it would help things between you two."

"Ha!" Gippal sat up and pointed a finger at her as if he had caught her. "You thought that because you knew she felt threatened by you." Rikku sat up more straight looking like she was ready to either fight or flee.

"What girl wants a boyfriend that has another girl as his best friend?" Rikku defended her leaving Home. She knew she was getting more defensive and definitely louder. Gippal shook his head and made a sound as if to say he was disgusted with what she just said.

"That does not mean that you leave without telling me. Nor did it mean not telling me you were not coming back." He was yelling now, "You disappeared without a word." Rikku started to protest but Gippal got up, "This time I get to walk away. Good night." He left her on the couch. The door slammed as he disappeared into his bedroom.

The next morning...

"He was right Yunie. I was a horrible friend. I should have found a way to tell him I was leaving." Yuna covered Rikku's hand with her own. They were sitting in Yuna's hut on Besaid on the floor. Rikku had her legs pulled up to her chest and her arms wrapped around them.

Rikku had shown up last night still in her green dress with red puffy eyes. Yuna had hugged her and brought her into the hut without a question. The crying had drained Rikku so she had fallen asleep rather quickly. When she woke up the next morning Yuna was there waiting to listen to her cousin's problems. So she told Yuna everything that had happened that night before.

"Why did you leave without telling him?" Yuna asked, feeling Rikku had not been totally truthful in why she had left. She knew she was right too when she saw Rikku's cheek tinged with red.

"I had a crush on him. I thought it would be the best thing for our friendship if I left and got over him. He had Nikki and besides I never dreamed that he might return those feelings. So I buried them. I was scared of what would happen if he found out," Yuna put her arm around Rikku. Rikku buried her head in her arms for a moment, took a deep breath and then brought her head back up. "And now he knows I had a crush on him."

"Maybe this fake dating idea wasn't such a good idea. I think that if you continue this charade you are putting your heart in danger. You might fall for him all over again, Rikku. Even if that does not happen you still could end up loosing his friendship." Yuna reasoned.

"I might have already lost him as a friend." Rikku groaned, "Maybe I will just stay here a few days until he cools down. Then I will go back and apologize." Yuna shook her head.

"Rikku, you ran away again. Hiding here is only going to make things worse. I am sure that he is sorry for what he said last night. But if it seems like you have ran off again..." Yuna trailed off hoping Rikku would know what she was trying to say. Rikku sighed and dropped her head down onto Yuna's shoulder.

"You are right. I should head back before he notices I have pulled another disappearing act. I will head back in the evening though. I need a little space and besides I should say hi to everyone hear before running off. Do not want them thinking I am running off either." Rikku smiled at Yuna and then got up off the mat. She hugged Yuna and thanked her again for listening to her. Then she stepped into the sunshine.


	7. Chapter 7

I only own my own creativity...

Sorry I took so long to update. The muse escaped for awhile. Here is the chapter.

Gippal woke up to the sound of someone breaking into his room. He reached for his gun but did not get to it before the bedroom door slammed open.

"Stop!" Rikku yelled as she threw her hands up as if to protect herself.

"Rikku!" he said as he sat up in bed. "I could have shot you. You are a thief. Shouldn't you be better at sneaking into someone's rooms without them knowing?" he demanded

"I wasn't sneaking in," Rikku stuck her tongue out at him and then picked up a pair of pants from the floor and threw them at him. "Get dress, we are going on a little excursion." Rikku walked back out the door but then stopped and turned only her head back. "And if you are not on the airship in ten minutes I will come back and drag you out of bed even if you are naked." Gippal glared at her back as she walked back out but got out of bed anyways. He got dressed quickly and met her outside. She was leaning against his hover waiting for him. He reached for the keys that were in his pocket but she held up her hand. He frowned as she dangled them in the air. She jumped in the hover and barely waited for him to join her.

Rikku barged into the house with Gippal trailing behind her wondering what was going on. She had been silent the entire ride but that changed once she found Cid.

"This nonsense stops now." She told her father shaking her finger at him, "You are going to get that silly contract that the two of you made up and it is going to be torn up."

"Now Princess," Cid started trying to calm her down but she shook her head.

"Don't now princess me, that is not going help this time. Even if we were actually interested in each other this is not the way it should be." Gippal shook his head in panic. Cid was now watching him but Rikku kept going. "This is not his fault. You wanted someone to date me and you got it. But this is not what I want. You can not blame him for it because it is really you who is to blame for this. You say you love me for me but this is not me. So the engagement or whatever it was is off."

"Are you telling me that you were putting on a show?"

"That does not matter! I want to be romanced not shoved off onto whatever guy you deem worthy. You are giving love all twisted up. This is nothing like I dreamed of growing up. There should be a man that is truly in love with me. One that swamps my room with flowers just because he is thinking of me. A man that he kisses me makes me melt. There are no feelings beyond friendship between Gippal and me. He is just a good friend that wanted to help me out and I selfishly let him. So you will now rip up that contract in front of me and this be over." Rikku finally ran out of air. Cid went into his office and brought out a few sheets to Rikku. He ripped them up in front of her and then threw them away. Rikku walked out the door with Gippal trailing behind her. He wanted so badly to say something but at the same time he could tell that she did not want him to talk right now. She dropped him off back at the temple.

The next day...

Rikku walked back to her apartment from work. She was considering moving now that she did not have to live near Djose anymore. But where would she go? She shook her head and unlocked her door. She dropped her keys once the door opened. Her apartment had flowers everywhere. Her favorite flower, the moon lily, filled the small living space. She walked further into the room and saw that they were even in her bedroom. She stood with her mouth wide open until she heard a knock. She swung around to find Gippal leaning against the door post.

"Did you do this?" She asked softly as she still could not believe her eyes. He stepped into the apartment and stopped in front of her.

"Yes." He simply replied.

"Why? The show is over." She was starting to feel overwhelmed by his gesture, " You didn't have to do this."

"Yes, I did," he reached out and took a hold of her arms at the elbows. She peered up at him.

"You did not answer my question." He smiled

"No, but it is not the first time. You asked me what I would get out of our arrangement. I joked that maybe it was my plan to make sure I got the girl. I was not joking though. I have been in love with you for quite some time now. I just never hoped that you would return my affection. So I took the chance to be with you when I saw it. I just did not realize how wrong it was to pretend it was all for show until after I talked to your dad. After you called everything off I decided to try the right way and stop being a coward." Rikku smiled up at him.

"To think how easy it would have been if you had just done this in the first place." He shrugged.

"I like a challenge. So, do I get a get a second chance?" She was grinning now. She stood up on her tip toes and put her arms around him. He leaned down and kissed her.

She melted.


End file.
